Educators are urged to restore educational system

State Sen. Gloria Romero told a room of educators, board members and others in Ventura on Friday that the fight to restore education in light of steep funding cuts in California can't just be about money.

Romero, D-Los Angeles, said she will fight for education funding, but she also called for a discussion "that allows us to think about what kind of education system we want."

To prompt that discussion, the chairwoman of the Senate Education Committee said she had proposed legislation that would add a preamble to the state's Education Code stating the values and mission of public education in California.

"I think part of it is rolling up our sleeves and getting to work," Romero told about 30 people, included education officials from Ventura and Santa Barbara counties, gathered in the auditorium at Ventura's Foothill Technology High School.

Despite steep cuts in state funding over the past two years, Romero said the situation likely will soon get worse. The state already has a multibillion dollar funding gap, she said, and if the propositions on the May special election ballot fail, the hole will get deeper.

She asked them to "re-imagine" public education, however, and use the crisis as an opportunity.

Other speakers at the townhall meeting on education finance included former Assemblywoman Hannah-Beth Jackson and Santa Barbara City Councilman Das Williams.

Williams, who works with the Central Coast Alliance United for a Sustainable Economy, a sponsor of the event, called for people to advocate for public education. He urged audience members to speak up about education needs and challenges.

A litany of cuts to schools and colleges was brought up Friday from Oxnard School District Trustee Ana Del Rio-Barba; Santa Barbara School Districts Superintendent J. Brian Sarvis; and Executive Vice President of Santa Barbara City College, Jack Friedlander.

"All of that we do on a shoestring, and that shoestring is being tightened every year," Fitzgerald said. Because of the state cuts, the district has already had to identify $10 million in cuts to make this year, she said.

"You cannot cut $10 million from your budget and not affect children," Ventura Unified Superintendent Trudy Tuttle Arriaga said Friday. "We need to think about what it is that we're doing to our children."